Gloves are worn for a variety of reasons. One such reason is that gloves may provide additional grip for handling an object. Such additional grip may be desirable in athletic activities. For example, in soccer a goal-keeper may wear gloves to provide additional grip when handling the soccer ball. Another example involves a receiver in football who may wear gloves to provide additional grip when catching the football. Some conventional gloves have surfaces on the palm area and finger stalls that improve the friction, or grip, of the glove. For example, in these gloves, the palm area and finger stalls may include tackified surfaces (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,832 to Mulvaney) or surfaces with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,065,155 to Sandusky) to increase the gripping ability. However, wet conditions may affect the gripping ability of such gloves. For example, such gloves may be worn during athletic activities that take place outside. Exposure to the elements, such as precipitation (e.g. rain, sleet, snow, etc.), may reduce the friction or gripping ability of glove. Precipitation will stay on the palm and finger surfaces of the glove and act as a lubricant. Therefore, when the palm surface becomes slick, gripping ability is diminished.
Some conventional gloves have attempted to overcome the effects that moisture has on a glove's gripping ability. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,044,494 to Kang, entitled “Athletic Glove having Silicone-Printed Surface for Consistent Gripping Ability in Various Moisture Conditions,” discloses a glove with a silicone sealant penetrated into the fibers of the glove so the glove retains a surface that is substantially level. In such gloves, silicone is typically applied to the glove's palm with a screen printing process, which is essentially a “two-dimensional” application of resin, plastic or rubber to the surface of the flat palm material in order to keep the surface substantially level. This flat surface creates a boundary layer that allows water to bead up or create a film that causes objects that the surface comes into contact with to slip or skid off (much like car tires hydroplaning on a wet road). Therefore, there exists a need for a glove that can provide improved gripping ability to the wearer even in wet conditions.